Australia authorizes the use of ecstasy and hallucinogenic mushrooms to treat some mental disorders

Australia became one of the first countries on Saturday to authorize the use of ecstasy and hallucinogenic mushrooms to treat some mental disorders.

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After the drug control agency legalized these substances in February, as of July 1 the ecstasy and psilocybin may be prescribed by psychiatrists to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and some types of depression.

In Canada and the United States, the medical use of one or both substances is permitted, but only in clinical trials or in specific cases.

In February, Australia reclassified these compounds, after the Agency for Therapeutic Goods claimed that trials had shown these substances to be “relatively safe” when used in a “controlled medical setting.”

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The promoters of this treatment hope that these substances can help patients who have not responded to other medications.

Mike Musker, an expert researcher on mental health and suicide prevention at the University of South Australia, told AFP that the MDMA (ecstasy) can treat post-traumatic stress and that psilocybin can relieve depression.

The MDMA “It gives people the feeling of being connected and makes it easier for people to connect with their therapist and also talk about their personal bad experiences,” she explained.

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The expert affirmed that psilocybin provides patients with a “psychospiritual effect that is not obtained with the drugs traditional”.

“It can make you feel differently about yourself and your life (…) and hopefully it will make you want to live,” he added.

Musker does not believe there will be widespread use of these drugs to treat patients until 2024, saying the process is not going to be “take a pill and go.”

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For the MDMA treatment will probably consist of three sessions of eight hours each, over a period of five to eight weeks.

This involves therapists accompanying patients, so each session could cost around A$1,000 ($660).

– “Lack of options” –

David Caldicott, MD, who is an emergency medicine consultant and clinical drug researcher at the National University of AustraliaHe told AFP that this reform places the country “way ahead of the rest” in exploring the medical benefits of these substances.

But Susan Rossell, a cognitive neuropsychologist at Australia’s Swinburne University, said that while these treatments “have potential,” the country “is five years ahead of where it should be.”

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“If you look at interventions (…) for any other type of disease, whether it’s something cardiovascular or cancer, you can’t get a drug to market as quickly as it has been done in this case,” he said.

A spokesman for the Department of Health told AFP that the decision to change the regulation “recognizes that the evidence for the use of these substances in the treatment of mental diseases It is not yet well demonstrated.

“However, the benefits for some patients (…) will outweigh the risks,” he explained. In addition, he insisted that “there is currently a lack of options for patients with specific mental illnesses who are resistant to treatment.”

Source: Elcomercio

jack

I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.